


Ready Now

by cooorn



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Flashbacks, Helping each other heal, M/M, Mentions of Death, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTSD, Post-Canon, Trauma, about everything, hajime/izuru struggles with his identity, healing from the despair, komaeda feels guilty, lots of swearing sorry, spoilers obvi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24594298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cooorn/pseuds/cooorn
Summary: Upon waking up from the Neo-World Program, He had found himself juggling a new sense of identity, Hajime’s memories and personality flooding Izuru’s brain. Despair flowing away like rainwater down a storm drain, He had hope.However, that hope came with a choice, who was He? His memories as Ultimate Despair remained clear as day, the name Izuru Kamukura ringing through his head. And yet, he felt like Hajime Hinata, his feelings, his thoughts, his desires- all of this giving him a feeling of completion.In a sense, Hajime Hinata had died years ago, his Neo-World persona simply scraped together from Izuru’s consciousness. A simple rewind of the Izuru Kamukura Project.“Hinata-kun.”
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Komaeda Nagito, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 4
Kudos: 92





	Ready Now

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I started writing this because I had wanted to explore how Hajime/Izuru face their new identity. Rather than them being separate people in Hajime's mind, I wanted to write them as literally merged into one person. It ended up evolving into an exploration of Nagito's remorse over his past actions as well, and I'm so excited to write more! Please enjoy :) 
> 
> The song for this chapter is Know Love - Rex Orange County
> 
> While not necessarily tailored for this fic, here is my KomaHina playlist as well: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KbtefwcoXJ7UNxUhMppuD?si=_Q6F3mxaTYOF3Y8t55c0Kg

_Open. Close. Open. Close._   
  
Three months. It had been three months since the end of the killing game. _Jeez, how time flies_ , He thought to himself. 

_Open. Close. Open. Close._

Upon waking up from the Neo-World Program, He had found himself juggling a new sense of identity, Hajime’s memories and personality flooding Izuru’s brain. Despair flowing away like rainwater down a storm drain, He had hope. 

“...nata-kun.”

However, that hope came with a choice, who was He? His memories as Ultimate Despair remained clear as day, the name Izuru Kamukura ringing through his head. And yet, he _felt_ like Hajime Hinata, his feelings, his thoughts, his desires- all of this giving him a feeling of _completion_.

In a sense, Hajime Hinata had died years ago, his Neo-World persona simply scraped together from Izuru’s consciousness. A simple rewind of the Izuru Kamukura Project.

“Hinata-kun.”

Hajime blinked, looking down at his hands, Komaeda’s robotic one resting between them- Hajime’s right thumb splaying the metallic fingers open.   
  
“Spacing out again?” Komaeda’s breathy chuckle filled the air.

That’s right… He was helping Komaeda with his physical therapy. After years of lacking a working left hand he was in great need of some rehabilitation. The two of them would sit in a hospital room working on exercises, Hajime using his knowledge of both mechanics and the human body to help his friend.

“Sorry.” He sighed, looking up at his friend with an apologetic smile, monochromatic eyes meeting pale green ones. 

Komaeda waved his free hand dismissively, “No, No, you’re fine, Hinata-kun. I’m sure it’s tough having so much talent stuffed into that brain of yours.” 

Hajime frowned. Despite Izuru’s analytical talent, Komaeda was still the only person he couldn’t read or predict. It’s no wonder he peaked Izuru’s interest over the years. “Was that… Sarcasm?”

Komaeda’s eyes widened, the early sun’s rays giving way to a rich hazel color. “Did it come off as sarcasm?” A nervous laugh, “I apologize, I can leave if I made you mad.”

“No. No, Komaeda, I’m not mad.” Why couldn't they just have a normal conversation for once? “Plus, we need to finish up this session.”

“Aah, right…”

Hajime hesitated, considering if he should voice his thoughts, he decided to test the waters. “I’m used to it, anyways.”

Komaeda’s robotic hand clenched, almost crushing Hajime’s fingers in the process. _Ah, there it is_ . “No you’re not, _Kamakura-san_ is used to it. Not you.”

For some odd reason, Komaeda was the most insistent that Hajime was even Hajime. After waking everyone up the Neo-World Program, He had voiced his concerns- only to be met with Komaeda uncharacteristically declaring he was Hajime Hinata. Telling him to carry on using his past self's name.

Heavy silence filled the room, neither the Hajime part of his brain nor the Izuru part could come up with a response. He decided to go back to the exercises, his friend silently complying. 

After another hour of their weekly session, Komaeda picking up and holding various objects, proceeded with stretches, and lastly any maintenance that was needed. The two said their goodbyes and parted ways, fresh thoughts weighing them both down.

* * *

Upon leaving the hospital, Hajime found himself walking towards his cottage, unsure of what to do with the rest of the day. Hopefully he could find a meaningful activity before his boredom could set in.

“Oi, Hinata!” 

Hajime looked over to see Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu standing near the pool, the latter waving him over. Always happy to talk to his friends, Hajime made his way over, giving them both a smile and a nod in greeting. “Hey, how’s it going, you two?”

“As good as we could be stranded on an island after the apocalypse.” Kuzuryuu shrugged, grinning. _Always the optimist Kuzuryuu_ , Hajime thought to himself. “Hey, shouldn’t you be with Komaeda or something right now?”

“We finished early so I was just heading back to my cottage.”  
  
“Is everything alright?” Kuzuryuu asked, crossing his arms.

Pekoyama copied the action. Her expression remaining neutral, red eyes studying Hajime carefully. “You seem annoyed,” She said bluntly. 

“I’m not annoyed, it’s just… You know how Komaeda gets. Sometimes he’s fine and sometimes it’s hard being alone with him.”

The couple nodded knowingly. Each of the former Despairs were fighting their own mental battles, slowly but surely recovering. However, Komaeda remained an enigma. Even as an Ultimate Despair- Izuru could never tell what the Luckster’s true goal was. Upon waking up from the Program, Komaeda’s brain was forced to process his psychotic actions from both the killing game and before, most likely leaving a larger scar on his psyche than any of his other classmates.

Hajime truly believed he was healing, though. Komaeda made far less self deprecating comments and the despair seemed to fade from his eyes over the past few months. However, he grew quieter as well, as if he was afraid to join his classmates even after all they had been through. He would often join them for events, mostly because Mioda or Nidai would drag him there, but will remain in the corner, as far away from everyone as possible.

“It can be hard to change your ideals in such a short amount of time.” Pekoyama supplied, clearly speaking from experience. Kuzuryuu gave her a sympathetic look and she gave him a small smile in response. “Perhaps he just needs someone there for him. To remind him it’s okay to change.” 

Hajime nodded, Komaeda did always seem to be alone, maybe he was struggling with a sense of identity just as much as Hajime. _I was also his only friend in the killing game_ , the Hajime part of his brain supplied. The realization seemed to weigh his shoulders down even more.

“Sorry for being such a downer, man.” Kuzuryuu nervously mumbled, his only eye glancing away as he scratched the back of his head.

“Nah, it’s okay, I think it helped. I’m gonna head back to my cabin, see you guys at dinner?”

“We’ll see you at dinner.” Kuzuryuu confirmed, grinning, happy to end the conversation he started. “I’ll bring some drinks!” 

“Young Master… You know how you get with alcohol.” Peko warned carefully.

“Shut up, Peko, not in front of Hinata. I’ll be fine.”

Their bickering faded away as Hajime made his way back to his cottage.

* * *

Kuzuryuu did indeed bring drinks that night, alcohol paired with Hanamura’s cooking leaving the whole class in high spirits. Izuru had always enjoyed drinking, the way his brain clouded and everything became so _interesting_ and his actions almost became something out of his own control. It was something he often indulged in after The Tragedy. 

Hajime was laughing at a joke Nidai had made about his morning bathroom run when he noticed a certain someone missing from the restaurant. After excusing himself and tearing away from Souda’s attempts to keep him sitting, Hajime stumbled his way out of the backdoor to look for his missing classmate. 

As soon as the cool ocean air hit his face, the fog seemed to clear a bit from his brain, leaving the Izuru part disgruntled and the Hajime part grateful. With shaky footsteps he made his way around the hotel grounds looking for Komaeda.

Perhaps it was his luck, but Hajime found him almost immediately. Komaeda’s frail body perched on a large rock sitting on the beach shore. His sharp features studying the dark waves and long hair messier than usual from the strong breeze. 

Hajime made his way over, slightly louder than he would have sober. If Komaeda heard him approaching, he made no effort to show it.

“Why are you sitting out here all alone?”

“Alcohol makes me sick, plus someone like… No, nevermind.” 

Hajime smiled, so he was trying to change. The old Komaeda would have gone on a long, self-deprecating rant about how he isn't worthy to be in the same room as everyone else.

Komaeda’s eyes glanced up, colored a stormy gray from the night’s atmosphere. “Why are you smiling at that, how drunk are you?”

Hajime went to sit next to his friend, just barely stopping his hand from moving his hair out of the way- an old habit from Izuru. Komaeda seemed to catch the movement and his expression darkened. “I only had a few drinks, I’m not a lightweight like Kuzuryuu anyways.”

Komaeda’s dark expression disappeared just as fast as it was there, an amused smile replacing it. “I don’t think anyone can get as drunk as him on simply one drink.”

A laugh left Hajime’s mouth before he could even process the sentence, maybe it was the poison in his veins or maybe it was because he enjoyed hearing Komaeda talk. “Don’t let him hear that, you might lose some fingers.”

Komaeda cocked his head slightly and turned to fully face Hajime, he noticed his smile seemed forced. “Why are you here, Hinata-kun? You certainly enjoy a good drink, I know you don’t pass up chances to do something interesting.”

Hajime’s head throbbed, Komaeda was right. Izuru nudging him back to the restaurant, and yet, Hajime felt as if this is where he needed to be. “Maybe,” He said, choosing his words carefully, “You’re more interesting than some stupid drinks.”

“But all of your friends are back there.” 

“You’re my friend too, Komaeda.”

Komaeda went silent, finally looking away and focusing on flexing his robotic hand, an exercise Hajime told him to do regularly. 

Hajime let the silence settle and focused his attention to the soft sound of the ocean waves. Seconds, maybe even minutes, passed.

“I’ve done a lot of awful things, Hinata-kun.”

Hajime couldn’t believe his ears, the words left his mouth before he could even think. “Yeah? So has literally everyone else on this damn island, you have no right to use that excuse.” As he said those words, Junko Enoshima flashed through his crowded head. “Look at me, I let The Tragedy even happen,” A corpse slipping on it’s own blood, “I let Nanami die.”

Komaeda sucked in a sharp breath, “That wasn’t you, that was Kamukura-san. If anything, you're the only innocent one on this island.”

There it was again. “I _am_ Kamakura! Komaeda, why can’t you understand that?”

Komaeda was glaring at him now, having given up on forcing a smile, frustration clear on his face. Hajime felt his brain begin to cloud again, the adrenaline rushing the alcohol back through his system. He vaguely remembers slurring something in Komaeda’s direction and watching the boy stand. When he was back to his senses, Komaeda was nowhere in sight. The only sign of him being light footprints leading away from the beach.

For the first time in years, He was angry for letting himself be intoxicated.

* * *

He didn't go back to the restaurant, deep in thought, Hajime made his way straight to his cottage. Collapsing on his bed and letting the alcohol eat his brain away into unconsciousness.

_He was Hajime Hinata._

_He was Hajime Hinata._

_He was_

_Izuru Kamakura._

_Izuru Kamukura was glaring down at him. Hajime found himself in the trial room again. That horrible place where he watched so many friends die. Where he was the reason they died._

_Every post was empty save for two, his green eyes facing red ones. Monokuma’s laughter echoing through his ears, a hint of Enoshima’s sadistic giggling adding to the uneasy feeling in his stomach._

_“It’s time to choose, Hajime!” Monokuma’s and Enoshima’s voices sang in unison. “Stay here and stay you!_ Or _die and become_ that _!”_

_Hajime’s eyes were locked on Izuru’s. “Give me control.” Izuru’s monotone voice said, his face remained neutral and yet, Hajime felt as though his entire being was being burned on the spot._

_“No.” Hajime tried, but his voice was small, just barely a whisper. “No… I don't want to die.”_

_“_ I DON’T WANT TO DISAPPEAR _. PUHUHU!” Every voice in his head said at once, the sound was deafening. Hajime could barely register his legs giving out below him._

_And then he fell._

_And fell._

_And fell. And fell. And fell._

Someone was knocking on his door. His brain slowly fills in the gaps of his memories, forcing him to remember his years as Izuru. The knocking continued.

Slowly, his senses come back to him. This happened almost every time he would wake up, the shock of his past memories paralyzing his body, leaving him stuck in his bed staring at his ceiling with wide eyes.

The knocking continued.

He realized it’s raining.

No, it was a downpour. Why is someone outside?

Forcing his body to move again, he slid out of bed. His stomach twisting with nausea and a pressure setting in the front of his skull. Maybe he shouldn’t have drank so much. 

As he stumbled to the door his brain registered how awful he must look right now, hopefully it isn’t Koizumi or Saionji behind the door. 

Upon opening the door, the deafening sound of rain filled his ears, Komaeda looked back at him with tired eyes. His clothes were soaked to his skin and his usually fluffy hair flat and dripping. 

“Good evening, Hinata-kun.”

“Oh my god.”

* * *

“Good evening, Hinata-kun.”

“Oh my god.”

Immediately Hajime’s brain supplied him with information, get him dry, warm him up before he suffers from hypothermia, check his temperature, get him some liquids, and make him rest. He grabbed the shivering boy’s arm, pulling Komaeda into the shelter of his cottage. 

“What the hell were you doing out there?!” Hajime demanded as he paced to his bathroom to get some towels and start a warm bath. 

Komaeda’s soft laughter carried through the small building, “I must have locked my key in my cottage earlier, when I couldn't get inside it suddenly started pouring on me. Jeez, how unlucky…”

Hajime left the bathroom glaring at the boy nervously standing near his door, his brain was so focused on his condition that he could easily ignore his oncoming hangover. “Well at least you came here instead of trying to sleep in the hotel lobby or something.”

“Oh, I tried to, but I think Hanamura-san has been locking the building to keep Owari-san out of the kitchen.” His attention shifted to the small puddle his dripping clothes were making on Hajime’s floor, “I’m sorry, it’s only been a couple minutes and I’m already making a mess of your space.” 

“I don’t care about the damn floor.” Hajime groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Komaeda looked so frail, his thin body shivering viciously and his skin almost translucent under a layer of freezing water. Perhaps Hajime needed to focus on more than just his hand during their next session. 

Against all odds, Komaeda’s brain condition had somehow just _stopped_ , he still suffered his symptoms from the current damage, however, his brain was no longer rotting from the inside out. Hajime told him it was a sign he should live, Komaeda seemed annoyed with this, saying it was just borrowed time.

“Go warm up in the bath, I’ll find some clothes you can borrow.” 

Komaeda opened his chattering mouth, probably ready to argue or decline but he quickly shut it. With a firm nod he shakily walked to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Hajime felt his chest swell, Komaeda had been allowing himself to be “selfish” more and more lately. It was progress. Blinking from his thoughts, he made his way to his dresser, looking for some clothes that would fit Komaeda’s lithe frame. 

Going through his drawers, he found a shirt a size too small that would probably fit Komaeda right- if anything being too short. Oddly he also found a mysterious pair of checkered boxers. Shrugging, Hajime concluded they must be an old pair he forgot about, deciding it would be better to let his friend use them.

After a quick mental rundown on what he should do next, Hajime pulled his portable stove from the cabinet. Going to work making a small pot of tea. What time was it anyways? Looking over at his clock, the glaring numbers 3:25 looked back at him. Why was Komaeda wandering around in the middle of the night? 

The sound of water splashing pulled Hajime from his thoughts, he could hear Komaeda climbing from the bath and the soft patter of his feet moving towards the door. A moment later, the door slid open, Komaeda’s face coming in the view, a thick steam wafting around him. His hair was still damp but his face had regained some color, as much color as his face could have, anyways.

“I put some clothes next to the door.” Hajime called, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the small heap of fabric. Komaeda expressed his gratitude and reached down to grab the clothes, Hajime felt his face heat up with the realization that Komaeda wasn’t even wearing a towel. Quickly looking away, he focuses his attention on making the tea.

A few minutes later Komaeda steps from the steaming bathroom, donned in the t-shirt and boxers Hajime had lent him. He’s drying his fluffy white hair with a small hand towel, the thing is soaked through and at this point he's just further disheveling the white cloud on his head. The t-shirt was certainly an odd fit, resting nicely on his shoulders but leaving a long strip of skin visible over the borrowed boxers- further accentuated by the drying motion of his arm. Hajime’s attention floats down to his bare thighs, both lined with deep horizontal scars. Cringing inwardly, he remembers watching the ordeal as Izuru;

The mad Servant had been causing a ruckus on Towa City, even Izuru was unable to ascertain what the other was planning. However the eccentric boy had always been somewhat entertaining, he was almost as unpredictable as the despair Enoshima had so whole bodily flaunted. Even as an Ultimate Despair he would still act in the name of hope- or so he claimed. Due to his unstable mentality _before_ Enoshima’s influence, he was, in a way, the most sane of the Despairs. Izuru had taken quite an interest in him after Enoshima’s defeat, following him to Towa and watching him act from the shadows. The Servant had played a bit too much with his prey, finally causing the malicious Genocide Jack to bite back. Her attack had left The Servant crippled and bleeding out on the streets. 

It was the only time Izuru intervened. After the subject of his interest, Enoshima, was killed, he came to the conclusion that he would not allow his current subject to die just yet. He was interested in the “hope” he so strongly spoke of.

And so, once The Servant passed out from blood loss, Izuru treated his wounds, carefully disinfecting and stitching the large gaping chasms carved into his skin. Once he was sure The Servant would survive, he left, leaving the unconscious man no evidence of who saved his life. 

“They’re quite ugly, aren’t they?” Komaeda’s voice snapped Hajime out of the past, his eyes shot back up to meet Komaeda’s. However, the later’s were carefully trained on the white lines standing from his pale skin, his right hand slowly tracing them. “A serial killer had attacked me- a different one from the one from my childhood,” He made sure to clarify, “Although, I suppose I deserved it.” His voice was heavy with regret. 

_That wasn’t you,_ Hajime wanted to say, but no, it was indeed Komaeda’s own actions. He may have been influenced but he was still in moderate control of his actions. Still, he’s changing, healing, he shouldn’t allow himself to be so held back by the past. 

Hajime opened his mouth to voice this to him but Komaeda was quick to change the subject, “You know, I had actually lost a pair of boxers that looked exactly like this a couple weeks ago, what an odd coincidence…” He mused.

“What?” Hajime blinked.

“I’m just saying,” Komaeda said carefully, was that a hint of accusation creeping into his voice? “It’s strange you would have the exact same, worn down, boxers that I had ‘lost’.”

“Dude, are you accusing me of stealing your goddamn underwear?” 

“Of course not, Hinata-kun. It’s simply a coincidence, right?” A coy smile creeped onto his face.

“Well obviously?” Hajime could feel his face heating up, does Komaeda seriously think he stole his underwear?! “I don’t even know where those things came from, I just found them in my drawer today. Whatever, you can keep them, it’s not like one less pair will make a difference in my life.” He sighed, he just wanted this conversation to be over. 

Komaeda clapped his hands once, a look of pure joy on his face, “How lucky! To think Hinata-kun would have a replacement pair for me!” 

“Ugh, whatever.” Hajime groaned, running his hand down his face, “Look, it’s almost 4am and I’m hungover and seriously tired. Let’s just drink our tea and go to bed.” Komaeda nodded with wide eyes and padded his way to the steaming pot, pouring himself a cup. Hajime noticed he drank it with no sweetener or milk. Huh, he took him for a sweets kind of guy. 

The two drink their tea in comfortable silence. They’re on the floor, using the bed frame as a back support. Komaeda visibly relaxes the longer he sits, due to his analytical ability, Hajime can’t help but notice the small things. Like the way Komaeda is sure to hold his cup with his right hand- probably in fear of breaking the fragile ceramic with his robotic hand. Or, the way he spends approximately 2.5 seconds to take a sip, every single time. Or even, the small sigh that escapes his lips every time the warm cup leaves them. 

As Hajime finishes his cup he fully turns to Komaeda, taking a mental note that he was only halfway done with his own. “So why were you out so late anyways?” 

Almost immediately his body is tense again, there’s really no use in avoiding the robotic hand if he was going to grip the cup so tightly. His eyes are trained to the steaming liquid in his hand, he remains silent for almost a full minute. Hajime is about to drop it when Komaeda finally speaks up, “I was... thinking.”  
  
Hajime perks up, “About what?” 

A full five seconds of silence, “...Myself.” He takes a long sip, downing almost the entirety of what was left in the cup, “About what’s next, why I’m still here,” his hand ghosts the scars on his thighs.

“You’re still here because you believed in hope-”  
  
“I’m still here because the universe cursed me with _luck_.” His voice was bitter. “No matter what I do it’s an endless cycle, everything I love gets taken and replaced with something materialistically better. I get frustrated and do such awful, selfish things... One moment I’m a student at my dream school, the next I’m a psychopath killing and hurting innocent people, then I finally have a chance to be normal again and I completely blow it. I’m… I’m not sure who I even am at this point, my life has become so useless. It finally had an expiration date, but even that was taken from me.” He sighed, running his robotic hand through his coarse hair, “I’m just so tired, Hinata-kun.”

Hajime felt himself freeze in shock, he hadn’t expected Komaeda to open up so easily, he desperately wanted to empathise with his friend, he understood what he was going through to some extent. And yet, instead his stupid brain began to analyize his friends words, connecting his behavior with different cognitive disorders. His brain providing rapid fire information on dementia and various other psychological diseases. It’s so much information at once, such obvious, unneeded information. _No fucking shit, this isn’t what I need._

“Um, what?” 

Hajime stares at his friend, he looks genuinely confused, and a little hurt. _Shit, did I say that out loud?_ “Shit, did I say that out loud?” He asks.

“Hinata-kun…” His eyes are wide and not meeting his own, “If my feelings are a burden you can just tell me. I understand I’m disgusting.” 

“No, shit.” Hajime was panicking, he totally blew it, “That wasn’t aimed towards you-” Komaeda just looked even more confused. Hajime desperately pointed to his own head, he probably looked insane, “I meant here- fuck, I’m sorry Komaeda I-” A deep breath, just explain yourself. “My brain is like a big database of information right now, and I can’t really control it. I had gotten the hang of it as Izuru but now that I can feel empathy again it's like-” He was gesturing wildly with his hands, Komaeda watching him, frozen, “It’s like this big floodgate opening up in my mind. It’s hard to form a response with how noisy it gets…” He trailed off, slumping slightly and avoiding Komaeda’s gaze. 

“I don’t need a response, Hinata-kun,” Was Komaeda’s soft reply. 

“No. You shouldn’t be thinking like that. We’re all dealing with the same thing to some degree. I can’t really… sympathize with your luck cycles as much but I have luck now too, as well as two different personalities shoved into my brain.” He lifted his fringe, showing the deep scar etched into his forehead, “We all have our scars, Komaeda. And scars heal… you just have to let them.”

Komaeda was staring at him slack jawed, eyes wide and forgotten tea cooling in his hand, “Hinata-kun…” His voice was barely a whisper.

Hajime felt his face heat up, he didn’t mean to go off like that, “Sorry for making things awkward,” He offered. “Your tea got cold, let's just go to bed, my head is killing me.” He abruptly stood up, tired legs creaking in protest, and went to the sink to put his cup away. 

Komaeda’s mouth snapped shut and he quickly downed the last of his drink, following him to the sink and placing the ceramic as quietly as possible next to Hajime’s. 

“I’ll set up a bed on the floor, you can sleep on the bed,” Hajime muttered as he pulled some blankets and a pillow to the carpet, his cottage wasn’t supplied with a futon and he never had a need to grab one from the department store. His back was going to kill him in the morning if his head didn't first. 

“Wait! No, I’ll sleep on the floor!” Komaeda quickly ran over to Hajime, trying to pull the pillow held tightly in his grasp, “I’ve already intruded into your home. I can’t possibly force you out of your own bed.” The poor guy looked genuinely worried. 

If he tried arguing with Komaeda they would be there until morning, then neither one of them would be sleeping anywhere. A sigh escapes his mouth and he glances towards his queen size bed, they were both fairly tall adult men, but maybe they could fit comfortably. There was no way he was letting Komaeda sleep on the floor. “How about we both sleep in the bed?” 

Komaeda stopped trying to wrestle the pillow out of his hands and glanced at the bed, then to Hajime, then back to the bed, a light pink beginning to dust his cheeks. 

“I mean…” Hajime hesitated, “If you’re like. Okay with that.”

“I’m okay with it.” Komaeda said a bit too quickly. 

“Cool. Well.” The throbbing in his head was starting to really get to him, his stomach was also beginning to bubble warningly. He really didn’t feel like puking with Komaeda within earshot. “Let’s go to bed already, I’m exhausted.” Komaeda agreed, following him to the fairly large bed. Both men shuffled under the covers, with the lights off it was hard to see too much but Hajime could feel their bodies just barely touching. He felt stiff and hot, awfully aware of the presence next to him. 

“Hey, Komaeda?”

“Mm?”

“I, I said a lot of shitty things today. I’m sorry if I made you mad.”

“I could never be mad at you, Hinata-kun. Not after everything you’ve done for me.” 

Hajime decided to trust those words, and with that, he fell into dreamless sleep. 

  
  


When he awoke the next morning he could immediately tell the bed was empty. His morning greeted him with a throbbing headache and the birds outside his window practically screaming their morning song. Kicking the wall to shut the damn things up, Hajime rolled out of bed, draping his comforter around himself to block out as much light possible. As he shuffled towards the bathroom, his limited vision fell to the small note sitting on the counter. Next to it was a glass of water and some hangover medicine. After immediately gulping down the latter two, his attention returned to the note- Komaeda’s scratchy handwriting easily recognizable:

_Hinata-kun,_

_Thank you for letting me spend the night in your cottage. I really cannot thank you enough. I will return the t-shirt you lent me later today, as I would like to wash it first. I brought you some medicine to help with your headache, please drink plenty of water._

_P.S. I will ask Souda-kun to help me with opening my door, so get some rest._

_-Ko_

Hajime felt himself smiling as his eyes took in the note, something about the straightforward yet caring words made his chest ache. There was no other word Hajime could describe it as except, well, _cute_. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he made his way to the bathroom, already feeling the pain in his head starting to fade.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Be sure to leave a kudos and comment about what you think so far <3 
> 
> I draw as well! You can find my art here: https://twitter.com/cornsketches


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